HILLINGDON AND DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIPS

BUSY Sue Pocknell had one of the heavier workloads on Bank Holiday Monday after reaching three finals at Rosedale Park.

Pocknell, a member of the host club, and Christine Phair of Fassnidge put on a real showcase in the ladies singles final for more than 120 spectators.

They traded shots early on to reach 8-8 and a count of three took Pocknell into a 12-10 lead, but Phair came back strongly in the second half, winning the next five ends to eventually gain an emotional 21-14 win and claim her second Hillingdon title in three years following her 2006 triples win.

After a break Pocknell was joined by Lyn Ive to face Di Clarke and Sheila Connor of Hayes in the pairs, which developed into one of the matches of the year.

The Hayes pair led 13-7 after 14 ends but the Rosedale ladies stepped up another gear to win five of the next six ends.

Clarke and Connor went into the final end trailing 16-14 but they gained the three shots they needed to win a titanic struggle, to tremendous applause.

All four ladies involved in the pairs had to do it all over again half an hour later in the triples.

The Rosedale duo were joined by skip Jean Matthews and Jean Clements played in the middle of the Hayes trio.

Rosedale started well and led 10-4 and then 15-6 before ensuring Pocknell ended the day with some silverware as they ran out 18-9 winners.

The 2007 County Champion, Ron Le Leux, also contested three finals starting with the pairs in which he was joined by regular partner Chris Harris.

Deane Park's Keith Donoghue and Len Glynn were up against it from the start as the Uxbridge pair went 5-1 and 12-2 in front.

The Deane Park men did well to reduce the deficit to 13-8 but they were never able to get back on level terms and Le Leux and Harris won four ends in a row to stretch 20-8 in front before ultimately winning 23-14.

Le Leux was next seen taking on Middleton Cup skip Tony Waller in the singles which went to 6-6 before Waller, aided by counts of four and three, stormed 17-9 up.

Le Leux showed his class by winning the next three ends to close to 17-15 but Waller came through to take the title 21-16 in his maiden season in the competition.

Uxbridge member Le Leux rediscovered his winning touch as he eased to victory with Sue Norman and Mike Kopp against Fassnidge in the mixed triples, turning an 11-0 advantage into a 24-9 success after 16 ends.

The over-60s produced a great game between Rosedale's Mick Kirby and Terry Perry of Uxbridge.

From 6-6 Perry strode to a healthy 16-11 cushion but Kirby roared back, taking the next six ends in a row to to come through 21-16.

Harefield's Karen and Nigel Rushton matched the Hayes pairing of Jean Clements and Bob White blow for blow as the mixed pairs boiled up into another real battle.

The teams were tied at 10-10 and 14-14 after 16 ends but the Hayes pair took the last five ends as Harefield were forced to chase ever bigger scores and the 23-14 victory did not reflect just how close the match was.

Attilio Ciampini successfully defended his Open Championship, beating competition organiser Dennis Hodgkins in the final.

Hodgkins started well enough, leading 4-1 and 9-7, but he had no answer to the second half surge from Ciampini who ran out a convincing 21-12 winner.

The mens triples had all the makings of a classic as David Garside, Tony Jones and skip Paul Darius (Mill) took on Deane Park's John Huggett, Keith Donoghue and skip Len Glynn, the latter two playing in their second final of the day.

The match swayed one way and then the other early on as the score read 6-6 and then 9-9 before a shock count of eight gave the Mill bowlers a decisive 20-9 advantage.

To their credit, the Deane Park team claimed four of the next five ends but they could not repair the damage, finally going down 24-14.

Hodgkins thanked all volunteer helpers and spectators for their help and support and asked everyone to do it all again in 2009.